Barney's Blog

A Drop Out Lectures on Education

Six years ago I suggested that Bill Gates run for President. I was serious. Gates knows business, and through his foundation, knows world affairs.

He also knows education, which is why I was interested to see a recent article on the subject in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Education today is, in many ways, stagnant. Too much of what we do is because that's the way we've always done it. Does every high school kid have to read "A Catcher in the Rye" and "The Great Gatsby"?

Recently there's been a lot of attention on the value -- or lack of value -- of the college degree. And as a Harvard dropout, Gates is qualified to address this. Bill believes you generally need something to establish that you've achieved a level of education, which the degree does. And he is interested in the notion of certificates that show that you've taken and passed certain online course.

And while you might expect Gates to be stoked that more devices such as tablets are entering the classroom, he thinks computers are useless unless the curriculum is built around them. For more from professor Gates, head over here.